A small group of protestors gathered outside the Lafayette Parish School System’s central office Tuesday afternoon, less than a week after the school board voted to take Comeaux High School offline at the end of the year.
The group of students, alumni and Comeaux supporters said they hoped the district would reconsider its decision and be more transparent.
“As a senior, it hurts seeing underclassmen who don’t have a place to come next year,” said Brenna Bonton. “I feel like the school board doesn’t care about us.”
Comeaux freshman Mckieren Johnson said he felt like the school board already had its mind made up about closing the school before it voted last week. He was frustrated that the board held the vote the same day students around the district took the ACT. He said Comeaux students were fretting about where they would attend school next year rather than focusing on the test.
“The next day (at school) was just traumatic,” he said. “The school was so sad.”
Mckieren, who runs track for Comeaux, said he’s zoned to attend Acadiana High next year but isn’t sure what he’s going to do.
The board voted 5-2 at its Thursday meeting to close Comeaux, rezone its students to Lafayette, Acadiana and Southside high schools, and build a new facility for the district’s career center and E.J. Sam Accelerated School on Comeaux’s campus. The school’s athletic fields will be used by the district for various sporting needs.
More than 80 people spoke out against the move, asking the board to consider other options.
Brandon Rodrigue, who lives in Youngsville and said he plans to run for the school board in 2027, said Tuesday one of the options the board should have considered was rezoning. Students zoned for an overcrowded Southside High could have been rezoned to Comeaux to bring its enrollment back up and at least one middle school could have been designated as a feeder for Comeaux.
“I feel bad for the kids,” he said. “They have to start all over again. Comeaux is their home.”
He also said he wants the school district to be more transparent about where it spends its money.
“These school board members forget they were hired for us,” he said. “Every cent of our money needs to be accounted for.”
A spokesperson for LPSS, Tracy Wirtz, said the district and its staff understand the emotions being felt in the community after the board vote and that it’s “focused on helping students and staff transition.” She also said the principals of Acadiana, Lafayette and Southside high schools were all working with the transfer students and families they’ll welcome next year.
Wirtz said families will receive information this week about a meeting with the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, or LHSAA, about transferring student athletes affected by Comeaux’s closure.
